A Golden Week Starbucks Adventure!

～スターバックス　アドベンチャー～（ミッシェル講師）

ミッシェル講師はゴールデンウィークにアリソン講師と関西地区に旅行にでかけました。
大阪、京都、奈良、神戸といろいろ回ったようですが、それよりも楽しかったことがあったようです。
それはスターバックス巡り。大きな都市に行くとたくさんの店がありますが、山口のこのあたりではあまり見かけないようです。大好きなスターバックスに毎日のように通ったみたいですね。
みなさんはコーヒーが好きですか。もしそうなら是非行ってみて下さい。いろんな味にであえるかもしれませんよ。

Hello, readers! And Happy Saturday! It's me, Michelle :)

During the Golden Week holidays, I took a trip with Allison to the Kansai Area. We went to Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe, and visited many interesting sightseeing places there.

But for me, the most exciting part about going to a big city is...Starbucks!

The ubiquitous Starbucks logo: a two-tailed mermaid
至る所にあるスターバックスのロゴ：二つの尾を持つ人魚

 Have you ever been to Starbucks? It's a cafe that started in Seattle, Washington in 1971, and has since become the world's trendiest coffee shop. There are many Starbucks cafes in Japan, too.

For Golden Week, I went to a Starbucks almost every day! Their coffee is delicious, and they have rare flavors that other coffee shops don't offer, such as Chai tea and Matcha latte. Of course, their coffee is more expensive than other places - around 500 yen per drink.

European-style Starbucks in Kitano, Kobe
ヨーロッパスタイルのスターバックス（神戸市北野）

Anyway, I also collect "tumblers" (special coffee mugs for traveling) from different places in Japan. Now, I have five tumblers: Tokyo, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, and now Kyoto and Kobe, too. Aren't they beautiful! I think coffee tastes better in these tumblers (hahaha).

My tumbler collection! I hope to find many more!
ミッシェル講師のタンブラーコレクション

Do you like coffee, too? What's your favorite coffee shop?
Please let me know if you like Starbucks as much as I do!

See you soon,
Michelle

Golden Week

～ゴールデンウィークの旅行～（アリソン講師）

ゴールデンウィークのお休みの間にアリソン講師は友達と関西地域をいろいろと旅行したようです。大阪、京都、奈良そして神戸まで足を運んだようです。買い物や観光を大いに楽しみ、日本を更に好きになってくれたみたいです。日本にはたくさんの良い観光スポットがあります。皆さんは海外から来た友達を案内するならどこを案内しますか。

My Golden Week Trip

Hello everyone! It's Allison! I hope you all had a wonderful Golden Week holiday! This Golden Week was my first one in Japan and I did a lot of site seeing. It was a lot of fun! A friend and I traveled all around the Kansai district and I saw many interesting things. In Osaka we did lots of shopping and in Kyoto we went to the Golden Temple, the Silver Temple, Kyomizudera, and the Inari shrine. Whew! So much walking! In Nara we saw what may be one of the world's largest Buddha statues and the many cute deer which roam in the parks nearby. In Kobe we discovered a Yu Darvish museum! Who knew? It was my first trip to really get out and see Japan and I loved it!

 The famous Glico Man in Osaka
大阪で有名なグリコサイン

 The many gates at Inari
伏見稲荷大社の鳥居

 Foxes at Inari
伏見稲荷大社のキツネ

At the Yu Darvish museum
ダルビッシュ・有　ミュージアム

Golden Week's biggest impression (Karina)

～ゴールデンウィークで一番印象に残ったもの～（カリーナ講師）

あっという間に過ぎてしまったゴールデンウィーク。
カリーナ講師は世界遺産でもある奈良の東大寺が一番印象に残ったようです。
絵のように美しく、堂々とした建物と世界で最も大きな仏像に心を奪われ、そしてかわいらしい鹿たちに囲まれ、ますます日本を好きになってくれたようです。
日本にはまだまだたくさんの美しい場所や世界遺産があります。みなさんはどのくらい訪れたことがありますか。


As we know, good times always past so fast! Spring Holidays are over now and I hope that all of you had some quality time whatever you've been doing.

I would like to tell you about the place I've never visited before and that became my favorite place in Japan after I did.

It's Todai-ji Temple in Nara city. The temple is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site as "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara", together with seven other sites including temples, shrines and places in the city of Nara. Deer, regarded as messengers of the gods in the Shinto religion, roam the grounds freely.

The building itself is truly a masterpiece. It's so big that not every camera can capture it. It was so monumental and picturesque, I've been just standing in front of it for maybe 15 minutes, trying to remember as many details as I could. 

Inside the building another masterpiece has been waiting for me. The Great Buddha, the biggest bronze Buddha statue in the world.

Todai-ji Temple was originally founded in the middle of 8th century and has been reconstructed few times, but the beauty still remains.

When I left the Temple I was amazed by friendly deer all around. They were coming to people and bowing politely to ask for some food.

This trip made me love Japan even more than before.

Karina

東大寺

奈良の大仏

During the Golden Week with Karina and Rob

～ゴールデンウィーク～（ロバート講師＆カリーナ講師）

ロバート講師とカリーナ講師はゴールデンウィーク中に京都、奈良、大阪を訪れたようです。
京都と奈良の美しさに魅了され、とても良い時間を過ごせたようですね。
伝統的な日本の美しさをもっと知ってもらいたいですね。
みなさんはどのようにゴールデンウィークを過ごされましたか。

During the Golden Week we visited Kyoto, Nara and Osaka; here are some photos of the trip. The weather was great and everything almost went according to planned :) During our trip we received a lot of help by the locals which really made the trip even more enjoyable. Both of us were really impressed with all the beauty in Kyoto and Nara.

京都：八坂神社

奈良：カリーナ講師と鹿

奈良：ロバート講師と鹿

Shauna's Future!

～ショ―ナの未来！～　（ショーナ講師）

ショーナ講師が誕生日の予定をたてています。
何をすべきか・・・何を買うべきか・・・どこに行くべきか・・・
何かおもしろいことをしたいようです。
みなさん何かいい案があったら教えてあげて下さい。

I am already planning my birthday.
I will be 21 years old...again! What should I do? What should I buy? Where should I go?

For Christmas, I went to Vietnam and Cambodia. It was fun, interesting and hot.

Ho Chi Minh Palace, Hanoi, Vietnam
ホーチミン廟　ハノイ　ベトナム

Angkor Wat, Cambodia
アンコールワット　カンボジア

In February, I went to Hiroshima for sledding and snowboarding! It was my first time and it was very, very scary and cold!
So for my birthday, I want to do something interesting. what do you think? What are your plans for your birthday? Maybe we can walk on the Great Wall of China or go trekking on an African Safari or swim in the Caribbean Sea!
What do you say? Let's Go!!
I am waiting for your reply....

～みなさん、こんにちは～(アリソン講師)

アリソン講師は昨年９月にアメリカ、メリーランド州、アナポリスから日本にやってきました。
日本に来て５ヶ月がたち、日本をとても気に入っているようです。一方、故郷が恋しくもなるようです。そのアリソン講師の故郷であるアナポリスについて書いてくれています。ハンマーでたたいて食べる蟹、みなさんも食べてみたくはないですか。

Hello everyone!

My name is Allison. I am from Annapolis, Maryland in the United States. I came to Japan last September to teach at SES. I have been here for five months now and I am really enjoying it! Japan is a beautiful country and I feel very safe here.

Even though I am having a lot of fun in Japan, I miss home a lot. My hometown was very interesting. Annapolis is the capital of Maryland and there are lots of things to see and do there. There is the historic downtown center with many interesting shops and wonderful places to eat. Annapolis is on the waterfront and I loved to sit down by the docks and watch the boats sail past.

チェサピーク・ベイが見えるアナポリスの路上風景
黒と赤と黄色の旗はメリーランド州の旗です。

Here is a street view of Annapolis, showing the Chesapeake Bay in the background. The black, red, and yellow flags on the buildings are the state flag of Maryland.

私が落ち着ける波止場

                               　　The waterfront area where I would hang out.

アナポリスで毎年行われるヨットレース。至る所からこのレースを見にやって来ます。

Every year Annapolis holds sailboat races, People come from all around to watch.

私の故郷では蟹は象徴的な食べ物です。夏の間ずっと食べています！

               Crabs are the iconic food of my hometown. People eat them all summer long!

If you're ever on the east coast you should check out Annapolis. It's a pretty cool place!

My First Traditional Japanese New Year

～初めての伝統的な日本のお正月～(ミッシェル講師）

今年のお正月は友人の家族の家で過ごされたミッシェル。
年越しそばや初詣そしておせち料理など日本の伝統的なお正月を存分に楽しんだようです。
各国それぞれに楽しいお正月の過ごし方があるようですね。
みなさんは日本以外でお正月を過ごされたことがありますか。

Hi everyone, long time no see! Happy 2015! It's the year of the sheep, so we say "Nice to see ewe*!"

This year, I spent New Year's Eve and New Year's Day at my friend's family's home. For the first time, I experienced a traditional Japanese oshogatsu! It was very fun, and I learned a lot about Japanese customs.

Soup with Rice cakes‐very good!
お雑煮

First of all, we spent December 31st relaxing at their home and eating delicious food like rice cakes, soba noodles, and sushi. I helped my friend's mother cook for a few hours.

While we ate, we chatted and laughed, and didn't worry about things like work or studying.

In the evening, a television program with many different musicians came on, and we all watched TV together while eating again. Outside, the weather became colder and colder. We debating going to a shrine at midnight. Finally, we decided to go quickly before it started to snow.

The shrine was more crowded that I expected, and a long line of people were waiting on the stairs. For about 20 minutes, we stood outside in the cold until we finally reached the top. 

At the shrine, we tossed some coins into the collection box, then closed our eyes, put our hands together, and prayed for health and happiness in the new year. Even though I don't believe in any gods or spirits, the atmosphere was very nice! 

Just as we arrived back at my friend's house, it began to snow lightly. By the morning, all of the ground and houses were covered in white powder! It was a beautiful morning, and a great start to 2015!

That day, we gathered at the table again and I enjoyed my first osechi. We don't have this dish in the US, so I was very eager to try it. Everything was delicious! Especially the black beans, which were very sweet. There was nothing that I disliked. 

おせち料理

Did you enjoy your New Year's holiday, too? I hope you enjoyed some good food in good company. 

Anyway, let's do our best this year and stick to our resolutions! 

See you soon!
Michelle B. 

* An "ewe" is a female sheep! It's pronounced almost like "you."